§8.1ταῦτα καίπερ οὐδαμοῦ τὸ Κίμωνος ὄνομα δηλοῦντα τιμῆς ὑπερβολὴν ἔχειν ἐδόκει τοῖς τότε ἀνθρώποις.
These things, although they nowhere declared the name of Cimon, seemed to the men of that time to possess an excess of honor.
οὔτε γὰρ Θεμιστοκλῆς τοιούτου τινὸς οὔτε Μιλτιάδης ἔτυχεν, ἀλλὰ τούτῳ γε θαλλοῦ στέφανον αἰτοῦντι Σωφάνης ὁ Δεκελεὺς ἐκ μέσου τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀναστὰς ἀντεῖπεν, οὐκ εὐγνώμονα μέν, ἀρέσασαν δὲ τῷ δήμῳ τότε φωνὴν ἀφείς· ὅταν γάρ,
ἔφη,
μόνος ἀγωνισάμενος, ὦ Μιλτιάδη, νικήσῃς τοὺς βαρβάρους, τότε καὶ τιμᾶσθαι μόνος ἀξίου. §8.2διὰ τί τοίνυν τὸ Κίμωνος ὑπερηγάπησαν ἔργον;
For neither Themistocles nor Miltiades obtained any such thing; but when the latter at least asked for an olive crown, Sophanes of Deceleia rose up from the midst of the assembly and spoke against him, uttering words which, though not generous, were pleasing to the people at that time: "For when," he said, "you fight and defeat the barbarians alone, O Miltiades, then also expect to be honored alone." Why, then, did they love the deed of Cimon so exceedingly?
ἢ ὅτι τῶν μὲν ἄλλων στρατηγούντων ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ παθεῖν ἠμύνοντο τοὺς πολεμίους, τούτου δὲ καὶ ποιῆσαι κακῶς ἠδυνήθησαν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκείνων αὐτοὶ στρατεύσαντες, καὶ προσεκτήσαντο χώρας αὐτήν τε τὴν Ἠϊόνα καὶ τὴν Ἀμφίπολιν οἰκίσαντες;
Or was it because, when others were in command, they only warded off the enemy to avoid suffering harm, but under this man they were able even to inflict damage by themselves marching into the enemy's territory, and acquired additional territory by settling both Eion itself and Amphipolis?
§8.3ὤικισαν δὲ καὶ Σκῦρον ἑλόντος Κίμωνος ἐξ αἰτίας τοιαύτης.
And they also colonized Scyros, which Cimon took for the following reason.
Δόλοπες ᾤκουν τὴν νῆσον, ἐργάται κακοὶ γῆς· ληϊζόμενοι δὲ τὴν θάλασσαν ἐκ παλαιοῦ, τελευτῶντες οὐδὲ τῶν εἰσπλεόντων παρʼ αὐτοὺς καὶ χρωμένων ἀπείχοντο ξένων, ἀλλὰ Θετταλούς τινας ἐμπόρους περὶ τὸ Κτήσιον ὁρμισαμένους συλήσαντες εἷρξαν.
Dolopes inhabited the island, who were poor tillers of the soil; and since they had practiced piracy on the sea from of old, they finally did not even spare foreigners who sailed in to trade with them, but plundered and imprisoned certain Thessalian merchants who had anchored near Ctesium.
§8.4ἐπεὶ δὲ διαδράντες ἐκ τῶν δεσμῶν οἱ ἄνθρωποι δίκην κατεδικάσαντο τῆς πόλεως Ἀμφικτυονικήν, οὐ βουλομένων τὰ χρήματα τῶν πολλῶν συνεκτίνειν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἔχοντας καὶ διηρπακότας ἀποδοῦναι κελευόντων, δείσαντες ἐκεῖνοι πέμπουσι γράμματα πρὸς Κίμωνα, κελεύοντες ἥκειν μετὰ τῶν νεῶν ληψόμενον τὴν πόλιν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν ἐνδιδομένην.
But when these men, having escaped from their bonds, obtained an Amphictyonic judgment against the city, and the common people were unwilling to help pay the fine, but ordered those who held the property and had committed the plunder to return it, these latter, becoming afraid, sent a letter to Cimon, bidding him to come with his ships to take over the city, which was being surrendered by them.
§8.5παραλαβὼν δʼ οὕτω τὴν νῆσον ὁ Κίμων τοὺς μὲν Δόλοπας ἐξήλασε καὶ τὸν Αἰγαῖον ἠλευθέρωσε, πυνθανόμενος δὲ τὸν παλαιὸν Θησέα τὸν Αἰγέως φυγόντα μὲν ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν εἰς Σκῦρον, αὐτοῦ δʼ ἀποθανόντα δόλῳ διὰ φόβον ὑπὸ Λυκομήδους τοῦ βασιλέως, ἐσπούδασε τὸν τάφον ἀνευρεῖν.
Having thus taken over the island, Cimon expelled the Dolopes and cleared the Aegean Sea. And on hearing that the ancient Theseus, the son of Aegeus, had fled from Athens to Scyros, and had died there by treachery because Lycomedes the king feared him, he eagerly sought to discover his grave.
§8.6καὶ γὰρ ἦν χρησμὸς Ἀθηναίοις τὰ Θησέως λείψανα κελεύων ἀνακομίζειν εἰς ἄστυ καὶ τιμᾶν ὡς ἥρωα πρεπόντως, ἀλλʼ ἠγνόουν ὅπου κεῖται, Σκυρίων οὐχ ὁμολογούντων οὐδʼ ἐώντων ἀναζητεῖν.
For there was indeed an oracle to the Athenians, bidding them to bring back the remains of Theseus to the city and honor him properly as a hero, but they did not know where he lay, since the Scyrians would not admit it nor permit any search.
τότε δὴ πολλῇ φιλοτιμίᾳ τοῦ σηκοῦ μόγις ἐξευρεθέντος, ἐνθέμενος ὁ Κίμων εἰς τὴν αὑτοῦ τριήρη τὰ ὀστᾶ καὶ τἆλλα κοσμήσας μεγαλοπρεπῶς κατήγαγεν εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ διʼ ἐτῶν σχεδὸν τετρακοσίων.
On that occasion, then, when the tomb was found with difficulty after much zealous effort, Cimon placed the bones in his own trireme, and having adorned them magnificently in other respects, brought them back to his own country after an interval of nearly four hundred years.
ἐφʼ ᾧ καὶ μάλιστα πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡδέως ὁ δῆμος ἔσχεν.
For this achievement, the people were especially well disposed towards him.
§8.7ἔθεντο δʼ εἰς μνήμην αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν τῶν τραγῳδῶν κρίσιν ὀνομαστὴν γενομένην.
And they also associate with his memory the judgment of the tragic poets, which became famous.
πρώτην γὰρ διδασκαλίαν τοῦ Σοφοκλέους ἔτι νέου καθέντος, Ἀψεφίων ὁ ἄρχων, φιλονεικίας οὔσης καὶ παρατάξεως τῶν θεατῶν, κριτὰς μὲν οὐκ ἐκλήρωσε τοῦ ἀγῶνος, ὡς δὲ Κίμων μετὰ τῶν συστρατήγων προελθὼν εἰς τὸ θέατρον ἐποιήσατο τῷ θεῷ τὰς νενομισμένας σπονδάς, οὐκ ἀφῆκεν αὐτοὺς ἀπελθεῖν, ἀλλʼ ὁρκώσας ἠνάγκασε καθίσαι καὶ κρῖναι δέκα ὄντας, ἀπὸ φυλῆς μιᾶς ἕκαστον.
For when Sophocles, still young, first brought out his plays, Apsephion the archon, since there was rivalry and partisanship among the spectators, did not draw lots for the judges of the contest; but when Cimon with his fellow generals advanced into the theater and made the customary libations to the god, he did not allow them to depart, but having administered an oath to them, forced them to sit down and judge, being ten in number, one from each tribe.
§8.8ὁ μὲν οὖν ἀγὼν καὶ διὰ τὸ τῶν κριτῶν ἀξίωμα τὴν φιλοτιμίαν ὑπερέβαλε.
The contest, then, because of the dignity of the judges, surpassed all rivalry in its intensity.
νικήσαντος δὲ τοῦ Σοφοκλέους λέγεται τὸν Αἰσχύλον περιπαθῆ γενόμενον καὶ βαρέως ἐνεγκόντα χρόνον οὐ πολὺν Ἀθήνησι διαγαγεῖν, εἶτʼ οἴχεσθαι διʼ ὀργὴν εἰς Σικελίαν, ὅπου καὶ τελευτήσας περὶ Γέλαν τέθαπται.
And when Sophocles won, it is said that Aeschylus, becoming deeply upset and bearing it heavily, lived for no long time in Athens, and then departed in anger to Sicily, where he also died and is buried near Gela.